'Canes offensive lineman Kc McDermott: "We're going to start playing nastier."
Hurricanes offensive lineman Kc McDermott, like his coaches, wasn’t pleased with Miami’s offensive line play in its spring game late last month.
The Hurricanes, who were dealing with both injuries to several key players and the loss of three starters, were sometimes sluggish, giving up several touch sacks of quarterbacks Brad Kaaya. And it took more than a few series for the offense to find any kind of consistency, prompting a blunt response from offensive coordinator James Coley when he was asked about the line postgame.
“I saw progress during the spring, but I thought we played a little high this spring and our defense played very well up front. I thought they played low and they won the trenches today, the defense,” Coley said. “But I will say this—that’s why we went out and signed five offensive linemen. We went out there to get guys in to help us out with depth, for competition. There’s going to be a lot of competition going on in camp and we’re going to play the best guys … Am I thrilled with the offensive line today? No. I thought we did some good things, but overall, we’re going to have to step it up going into training camp for these guys.”
McDermott, a rising sophomore who like Coley doesn’t mince words, felt pretty much the same way.
During last week’s Home Team Closet event on UM's campus, McDermott – who missed time this spring while recovering from a knee injury but played in the spring game – said he, his fellow linemen and the entire offense were plenty upset watching the film from the spring game.
And McDermott said the plan to improve is simple. They’re going to have to be more aggressive, both as a line and an offense.
“I took from it that our offense needs to play nastier. We’re going to start playing nastier. It’s something we’ve all been saying since that Monday we got back. We watched the film and as an offensive unit and we all decided, ‘Hey, this is not exactly how we want to play,’” McDermott said. “We realize it was the spring game, but the defense did come out with more of a mission than us and we’re not going to let that happen again.”
For Miami, one of the biggest goals in camp will be finding ways to replace three valuable starters—left tackle Ereck Flowers, a junior who is leaving early and is projected to be a high-round pick in this month’s NFL Draft, center Shane McDermott and versatile lineman Jon Feliciano.
McDermott figures to be one of the players expected to see a bigger role this fall, especially after successfully returning from a knee injury. While he and Taylor Gadbois missed time this spring doing rehabilitation work, junior college transfer Jahair Jones got some quality reps. So did Sunny Odogwu and rising sophomore Trevor Darling. Former St. Thomas Aquinas standout Nick Linder, the younger brother of Jacksonville Jaguars and former UM lineman Brandon Linder, will be a key contributor too. And incoming freshmen like Bar Milo, Tyree St. Louis and Hayden Mahoney could make an impact, as Coley hinted.
Regardless, McDermott knows he and his linemen have work to do. And they’re already trying to take the necessary steps to be a better group than they were a few weeks ago. He said the group grew closer throughout the spring and that players hope to remain as versatile as past linemen before them, being able to fill in and play anywhere on the line coaches need them to.
“We realize that as an offense, especially as an offensive line, that winning, is going to be on us. A lot of it is going to be on us,” he said. “We know that a lot of people think that because we graduated three guys from last year that it’s going to be tough. But we believe that we’re going to be just as good or even better than in the past.”
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Hurricanes offensive lineman Kc McDermott, like his coaches, wasn’t pleased with Miami’s offensive line play in its spring game late last month.
The Hurricanes, who were dealing with both injuries to several key players and the loss of three starters, were sometimes sluggish, giving up several touch sacks of quarterbacks Brad Kaaya. And it took more than a few series for the offense to find any kind of consistency, prompting a blunt response from offensive coordinator James Coley when he was asked about the line postgame.
“I saw progress during the spring, but I thought we played a little high this spring and our defense played very well up front. I thought they played low and they won the trenches today, the defense,” Coley said. “But I will say this—that’s why we went out and signed five offensive linemen. We went out there to get guys in to help us out with depth, for competition. There’s going to be a lot of competition going on in camp and we’re going to play the best guys … Am I thrilled with the offensive line today? No. I thought we did some good things, but overall, we’re going to have to step it up going into training camp for these guys.”
McDermott, a rising sophomore who like Coley doesn’t mince words, felt pretty much the same way.
During last week’s Home Team Closet event on UM's campus, McDermott – who missed time this spring while recovering from a knee injury but played in the spring game – said he, his fellow linemen and the entire offense were plenty upset watching the film from the spring game.
And McDermott said the plan to improve is simple. They’re going to have to be more aggressive, both as a line and an offense.
“I took from it that our offense needs to play nastier. We’re going to start playing nastier. It’s something we’ve all been saying since that Monday we got back. We watched the film and as an offensive unit and we all decided, ‘Hey, this is not exactly how we want to play,’” McDermott said. “We realize it was the spring game, but the defense did come out with more of a mission than us and we’re not going to let that happen again.”
For Miami, one of the biggest goals in camp will be finding ways to replace three valuable starters—left tackle Ereck Flowers, a junior who is leaving early and is projected to be a high-round pick in this month’s NFL Draft, center Shane McDermott and versatile lineman Jon Feliciano.
McDermott figures to be one of the players expected to see a bigger role this fall, especially after successfully returning from a knee injury. While he and Taylor Gadbois missed time this spring doing rehabilitation work, junior college transfer Jahair Jones got some quality reps. So did Sunny Odogwu and rising sophomore Trevor Darling. Former St. Thomas Aquinas standout Nick Linder, the younger brother of Jacksonville Jaguars and former UM lineman Brandon Linder, will be a key contributor too. And incoming freshmen like Bar Milo, Tyree St. Louis and Hayden Mahoney could make an impact, as Coley hinted.
Regardless, McDermott knows he and his linemen have work to do. And they’re already trying to take the necessary steps to be a better group than they were a few weeks ago. He said the group grew closer throughout the spring and that players hope to remain as versatile as past linemen before them, being able to fill in and play anywhere on the line coaches need them to.
“We realize that as an offense, especially as an offensive line, that winning, is going to be on us. A lot of it is going to be on us,” he said. “We know that a lot of people think that because we graduated three guys from last year that it’s going to be tough. But we believe that we’re going to be just as good or even better than in the past.”
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